A Normal Family
by rockypebbles1
Summary: Nine years later, Edward, Bella, and Nessie try to live life. Normally.
1. Chapter 1

**A Nice Family Talk**

Renesmee Carly Cullen was now nine years old, and had reached full maturity a couple of years before. She was almost as tall as me, and looked to be about sixteen-what with her waifish features and slight built-with auburn hair, just like her father and expressive brown eyes that made her uncanny ability of passing on her thoughts unnecessary. Our daughter was the best child anyone could wish for.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad," she said, as she walked by the kitchen, where Edward and I were preparing _her_ dinner.

"Nessie," said Edward, and she stopped dead in her tracks, hearing the tone in his voice. She sighed, and turned to look at us. I cracked a smile and hid it behind the plate I was getting for Edward. "Come join us," said Edward, in a pleasant voice. I was sure there was something up-noting the tone of my husband's voice. He was reading her mind already.

"Sure, Dad," muttered Nessie and sat heavily on the chair across from us. Edward took the plate from me and started to serve the Fettuccini that I had helped him cook.

"How was your day, honey?" Edward asked, placing the plate before her.

Nessie sighed again and actually rolled her eyes. "Dad, let's just skip the pleasantries, okay?" she said.

It was Edward's turn to sigh. "Don't roll your eyes at me," he said, and was about to say something sharper, but I cut him off. I knew him well enough.

"Okay! So, what news have you got for us, Nessie?" I asked her, and sat down across from her. I smiled encouragingly, trying to tell her that it was okay, that Daddy wasn't really angry at her. Opening up my stretching-rubber-band power, I told Edward _Calm down so she can talk!_ I gave him a look that he didn't miss, and neither did Nessie. "So?" I asked her.

With yet _another _sigh, Nessie said, "Fine! I met someone, okay?" she said.

"Met?" Edward said. "No, Renesmee. You know my abilities. You _know_ I can read your mind, even if I don't want to. And what I am reading right now is not that you _met_ someone, but that you _were_ with someone. Don't censor your thoughts to your mother. Tell her the truth."

I could tell it was already too late to calm him down. Edward was an overprotective father and husband. If anybody got too close to his baby, he over-reacted. "Edward," I said, in warning. Then I turned to Renesmee. "What is he talking about?" I asked.

Nessie leveled me a look that spoke volumes. "I like him," she said, simply, shrugging. Edward growled. While I ignored him, Nessie stiffened and extended her hand to me. I frowned and took it. It still felt strange to see her thoughts in my own mind, but she was my daughter and I wasn't going to turn her away. Her hand was smooth, like a baby's bottom. I almost sighed as I remembered her birth, but then shivered when her thoughts began to transfer to my head. There was a boy, just his face, and there were a lot of dreamy little girly things there, too. Like pink and red hearts, cupids, flowers and chocolate. Frowning I muttered, "Okay, Nessie."

"Mom," she said, and I chuckled.

I payed more attention then, and watched the boy's face more intently. He was about sixteen, maybe seventeen. Not very tall, but still sort of cute in a kid way. He had jet-black hair and a straight nose. A body that said I-work-out-and-eat-a lot-but-never-gain-weight. He had a nice smile, and dimples, too. His eyes were blue and his teeth were small white pearls. Hmm, I guessed my daughter had good taste in boys. He was saying something, and I payed close attention. "Nessie," he said, "would you like to go out some time?" And then there was my own baby's voice, that said, "Oh, uh, sure, why not?" And the boy grinned. His name was Kyle Brooks.

"Kyle Brooks?" I said, shaking my head and letting go of her hand.

Nessie bit her bottom lip. "Uhm," she murmured.

I sighed. "Nessie, I didn't think we had to tell you this. You're way too young to be dating six-seventeen year old boys-"

"You're too young, period," said Edward.

"But, Mom-"

"No, Nessie, you don't understand. If this boy knew your exact age, he wouldn't be asking you to go out," I said. "Don't you think it's wrong for you to tell him your his same age when you're not? Isn't that lying? Didn't your father and I teach you better?" I asked, rhetorically. Nessie averted her eyes, but I stood up and walked around the table to kneel by her. "I don't want you to have to lie. You're nine years old, not a teenager. Not yet. You'll just have to wait, Nessie. Okay?" I asked, taking both her hands, ignoring all the thoughts that were going through her head.

Edward wasn't ignoring them, though, and he shot up off the chair and growled. "I won't have you _dating_ an older boy, Renesmee. You will have to tell him to get lost," he said, through gritted teeth.

"Edward," I snapped. "Calm down!"

"Calm down? Bella,_ calm down_? Don't tell me to calm down. My daughter is dating an older man, Bella, do you understand?" he demanded, and I glared at him.

"Hey, I'm trying just as hard as you are," I snapped. "And anyway, this isn't about me, or you. This is about _her_."

"Exactly," he barked. "Renesmee, go to your room," he said. "And tomorrow, you will not leave this house," he continued.

I gasped. Nessie gasped. "But, Dad-"

"Go to your room!" he yelled.

My mouth dropped open. I could not believe this. I just couldn't believe it. He was _yelling_? Yelling? My Edward was yelling? No, no, no, this was not happening. Suddenly, Nessie jumped and ran up the stairs. I stared after her, my mouth gaping. Then, I looked back at Edward, and slowly stood up. He ran a hand through his hair. "I cannot believe you just yelled at her. You yelled at your daughter, Edward!" I said, loudly.

"I can't believe it either," he said, on a gasp. Suddenly he wasn't there anymore. He was in Nessie's room. From the bottom of the stairs, I heard them talking and they were loud, too. Nessie had much both of our tempers, and I didn't know if that was a good combination.

I sighed and looked over at the plate of food Nessie had left on the table. Grabbing it, I ran up the stairs, still careful of not dropping everything all over the stairs. When I got to her room, I watched as Edward drew her into his arms and she began to weep. The tears that I couldn't shed prickled my eyes and I wanted to get rid of the plate and just take her and comfort her. What had he told her? I wondered, standing at the threshold of my daughter's room. I remembered the day I woke and first saw her, how much I wanted to finally meet her and hold her in my arms. And then, how she'd received me-"She's been waiting for you for almost three days," Edward had told me. And I had wanted nothing more than to die in those three days. But, then I'd woken up and I'd found how wonderful it felt to feel alive and to be able to look at Edward and the rest of my new family. And my daughter. Her beautiful auburn, curly hair all the way down to her lower back, her smile, the warmth of her brown eyes.

They were as beautiful as Edward had said in the forest that day.

I knocked on the open door, and Nessie looked up and smiled at me. My silent heart suddenly beat fiercely-or at least that was what I felt when she walked towards me and hugged me. Edward relieved me of the plate and I took Nessie into my arms. "Baby..." I murmured, and she began to cry all over again. "Nessie, don't cry," I whispered, burying my face in her soft hair. Whoever said it was going to be hard to be parents should have been shot-this was worst than hard, this was almost impossible. It was difficult to not be a friend to her, to stop for a second and feel how young I was. A mother at eighteen, and I was never going to be nineteen, twenty, twenty-one... never thirty. I would never go through mid-life crisis, like Charlie. But Nessie would someday be a teenager, and would someday be eighteen even though she'll look sixteen.

Edward came and put his strong arms around the both of us. "We've got to be stronger than this, Bella," he said to me, quietly. Maybe Nessie wouldn't hear. I nodded, and looked up at him. "I love you," he murmured. "I love you both so much," he said, louder this time.

"I'm sorry," Nessie blubbered, and I hugged her harder. "I'm sorry for lying-"

"You can't really lie, Nessie, your dad would catch you before that happened," I said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I know, but I was going to lie, and you guys did teach me better than that. I'm really sorry, Dad, Mom," Nessie said. "I promise I won't ever think of it again."

"We know that, Nessie. And, I'm sorry for yelling. I was out of line, will you forgive me, princess?" Edward asked, kissing Nessie's crown.

"Of course, Daddy," she said, and laughed a little. "You know, I think we should take a vacation. It's been five years, you guys. In Forks, you guys got like this, and then we came over here and it was okay-but now, I think we gotta move on," Nessie said.

I thought about that. "You know what? I think you're right. We should go somewhere else, Edward," I said, and he looked at me and grinned.

"Where should we go now?" he asked, with that crooked smile on his face.

"Hmm, let's try Alice and Jasper's route? We could go to their house, stay for a while, and then we decide. Let's just a take a vacation," I said, and grinned.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Trip to Familyville**

We arrived at Oregon in the night and with Nessie asleep on the backseat. I looked over my shoulder and watched her the whole time Edward drove. We were on the new silver Volvo that Edward had bought in New Hampshire. Edward and I were quietly talking when he stopped the car, and lowered the window. "What-"

"Shh," he said, and I scowled. As always, I was more distracted than he was. But, my distraction was Nessie, so it couldn't really be my fault. She was my daughter, after all, and I loved her to death. But Edward was frowning and looking out the window. Suddenly, I heard it. It was a low growl-something I was sure familiar with. Werewolf. There was the smell-stench, really-and then the sounds of rustling leaves and paws on the muddy ground. Edward raised the window and stepped on the gas.

"That was a-" I began, but I was cut off by Nessie.

"Werewolf," she whispered. I looked back at her and saw her eyes closed. Was she still sleeping? She couldn't be, could she?

"Nessie?" I whispered.

"Mmm," she murmured, and curled up on the seat. She wasn't wearing her seatbelt.

"She's dreaming," Edward murmured, "about Jacob."

Not good.

I didn't respond to that, but remembered the night that Jacob came into my room back in Forks and tried to make me guess what kind of monster he was. And I'd dreamt of him and Edward-like the night that he first told me Edward was a vampire-and he phased in front of me. 'Werewolf,' I'd gasped as I woke up. Edward kept driving, and I kept silent, and looked out the windshield. Why was she dreaming with Jake now? It had been almost five years since we'd known anything about him. I wondered if he was alright, with the reason for his existence. Renesmee. When we'd first decided to finally leave for New Hampshire, Jake had almost gone mad, but then had said goodbye quietly. Had we been wrong by taking Nessie from him? I bit my lip and shook my head. Edward looked over at me. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

I shook my head again.

"Bella," he said, and I heard the impatient warning in his voice. That was the same voice he used when we were "playing". I flashed a look at him and he suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Sorry," he murmured, "I didn't mean to do that, Bella." We stayed quiet for a moment, then I cleared my throat and he looked back at me with an expectant face.

"I was just thinking about Jake," I murmured.

Edward was quiet for a second, then he said, "Do you miss him?"

It was strange that he was asking me that. It was as if he were wondering if I still _loved_ Jacob, as in _love love_. As if there was any way that I would change him for Jacob. "Not like that. I was just thinking about when we left-I mean, did we hurt him by taking Nessie from him?" I asked.

Edward thought about that. "He was hurt, yes. The pain wasn't something that he wanted the rest of the pack to know about. I think that if he were to see Nessie again, things would be quite... strange for both of them," he said.

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"Jacob's imprinting on Nessie and then our taking her from him might have ruptured the... feelings. Not that Jake would feel different than he did before, but it might have changed more... emotionally than we expected. Remember when Nahuel was here and you said something about Jake having competition over Nessie?" he asked.

"Sure," I said. Of course I remembered.

"Well, he might be more in love with her now, than feel brotherly love towards Nessie," Edward said.

"Oh," I said.

I thought I understood. Jake would have stopped feeling like he was Nessie's best friend, or big brother, and would now feel as if she really belonged to him, as if they were really meant to be together. Like Sam and Emily, Paul and Rebecca, and Jared and Kim. I really didn't know how I felt about that. Turning to look back at Nessie again, I said, "I don't think we should be too close to Forks right now."

Edward sighed. "Perhaps," he said.

"Edward?" I said, but then the phone rang.

It was connected to the car, and Edward reached to it and pressed Talk. We heard a _boom! _and then Alice's voice was heard. "Edward?" Jasper said, his voice muffled.

"Jasper, hello. I have you on speakerphone," Edward said. He kept driving calmly, but he gave me a look from the corner of his eye. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Oh, Emmett is here," Jazz said, by way of explaining something unimportant. There was another boom. Then there was laughing and Alice said "Hi! Edward, Bella!" More laughing from Emmett, and then I heard Rosalie's bell-like laughter. It seemed they were all there. "He's playing with fireworks," Jazz said. Another boom. "Are you guys almost here?" he asked. "Oh, wait, never mind, Alice already told me that," he chuckled.

Nessie murmured something and I turned to look at her. "Oh, is Nessie asleep?" asked Jasper.

"Yes, she's still sleeping. We're already a few minutes from the house. We'll be there shortly Jazz," Edward said, as he made a left turn. He hung up on Jazz and chuckled once. Then I heard the boom, and the fireworks exploding in the sky. The hissing and the dropping. It sounded so cool. Nessie murmured again and then she opened her eyes.

"Mom?" she said, perplexed.

I smiled. "We're almost there, honey."

"Hmm. Are those fireworks?" she asked.

"Your Uncle Emmett is there, too. And Aunt Rosalie," I said.

"Were you guys talking about werewolves?"she asked, suddenly.

"Uhm..." I said.

"No, Nessie, we weren't," said Edward, and he made another turn, right this time. I turned to look at him. It seemed to be snaking, the road. It was all curves. He made another turn, more like a curving, now. And then, there was the house. It was another white monstrosity. Beautiful, though. The fireworks exploded from the back of the house, and, as Edward neared the car to the house, I watched as a figure made its way out of the trees. Again, the house was surrounded by trees. I could see through the darkness, though, and I saw that the figure was Emmett. It had been quite some time that I'd seen my big brother. I'd actually missed him.

"Oh, wow," I said.

"It's a beautiful house," said Edward, as he opened the door, then flashed to my side and opened mine before I could. I was actually thinking of staying in the car and enjoying the show from inside. Weird me. I couldn't get used to being a vampire, yet. Nessie popped open her own door, and stumbled out of the car, putting on her shoes. I looked at her, and noted that her clothes were a bit wrinkled, but she still looked pretty in her white jeans and electric-blue top. Her hair was pulled into a pony tail at the top of her head. She was pulling on a pair of ballerina flats the color of her blouse.

Edward took my hand and pulled me to him. Nessie was already walking towards the side of the house. I looked up at Edward, and smiled. "I haven't kissed you since we left Kansas," he murmured, and then leaned down to capture my lips with his own. "Are you happy we're here?" he asked, against my lips.

"So near Forks," I nodded.

"I know. Would you like to go up to Washington? Visit Charlie?" he asked.

Sure, I missed my dad, but would it be a good idea? To be so near the wolves, I didn't think so. I shook my head. "It's alright. Let's enjoy this first," I said and kissed him again.

"Alright," he murmured, and kissed me more intensely.

"Hey! I thought you were here to visit _us_, not kiss more!"

We drew apart as Emmett's voice came nearer. He pulled me out of Edward's grasp and enveloped me in a bear hug-I hadn't had one of those since Jake. "Hi, Emmett. How are you, Emmett," I said, sounding bored, but then laughed when he swung me around.

"Alright, alright, let her down," said Edward, with a smile.

"It's nice to see you, too, Emmett," I sang, poking him in the ribs.

"Yeah, it is nice to see you, Bells. How are you guys? I just saw Nessie, and I gotta tell you, man, she is _pretty_!" Emmett said, as he let me go. He crowed and I punched his ribs. He laughed heartily and wrapped an arm around my neck to rub his knuckles against my scalp. "I love you, little sis!" he laughed.

"Oh, my God!" I laughed, and kicked at him. He just couldn't get over the fact that I just wasn't as strong as I used to be in the beginning of my new life. "Edward!" I called, still laughing.

"Come on, Emmett," my husband said, even while he laughed. And then Emmett let me go, and went for his brother. "Oh, no, don't even-" said Edward, and then shot off. Emmett went after him. I laughed, and began to make my way to the back of the house.

"Bella!"

"Hi! Rosalie, how are you?" I demanded, as I wrapped my arms around Rose, she was just as beautiful as always. Her long, golden hair was in a loose braid coming over her left shoulder, and she was wearing a pair of black leggings, a long silver mini dress and black boots. Silver bracelets jingled at her wrists. She was wearing a huge smile as she reached over and touched my hair.

"I'm really good. And you? Oh, my God, I just saw Nessie, and she is the cutest, more beautiful thing I've ever seen!" she gushed. And I thought it was going to be Alice the one that gushed like that about Nessie. But it seemed that they were all very excited over what Nessie looked like now.

"Yeah, she is. I'm good, Edward's good. We're all really doing fine, it's just that we needed some time off that life, you know?" I asked.

"I totally understand. Emmett and I found this really cute house in Hawaii, and we lived there for a few months, but we just wanted to be near everyone else, you know. The family," Rose said.

I nodded. "Yeah," I muttered. "And Carlisle and Esme?" I asked.

"Oh, they're inside. Esme thought she should make Nessie something to eat, so she's in the kitchen right now, and Carlisle is with her," said Rose. She took my hand and pulled me towards a tree. "Come, Alice and Jazz are over-"

"Emmett!"

"What?"

"Stop! Let me down! Now!"

We laughed at Edward and Emmett's exchange. Emmett had finally caught up with Edward, it seemed. Though, how, I had no idea.

"Bella, there you are!" I turned and saw Alice. My favorite black-haired vampire. She skipped to my side and jumped on me. "I missed you SO much!" she exclaimed. "Oh, my gosh, you just wouldn't believe how lost I was without you these years-"

"Not very lost, I hope," said Jasper from behind her. He smiled at me and said, "Hello, Bella."

"Hi, Jasper, how are you?" I asked, looking up at him.

He nodded. "Well," he said. "But, apparently, I can't keep my mate happy anymore. Should I blame you for that?" he chuckled.

"Oh, heck no! Blame her!" I laughed. But then I hugged Alice around the neck and kissed her cheek. "I love you, Alice," I said, and I was suddenly stolen by someone's very strong grip on my waist. "What the-"

"Shh, don't say anything. Edward will have my head if he-"

"Emmett!"

He laughed and then swung me around, and then I was facing Edward. He looked winded, and amused. No, more than that. He was happy. Now, that he was among his brothers and sisters. I loved that. I threw my arms around his neck and cried, "Save me!" Everyone laughed and then we all went inside so that we could see Esme and Carlisle. They were in the kitchen, like Rose had told me. Nessie was already with them. She was standing under Carlisle's arm, while they chatted with Esme. When we came into the kitchen, Esme smiled warmly and came to hug me, and then she stepped back and looked up at Edward.

"We've missed you, Edward," she said, almost tearfully.

Edward grinned his crooked smile. "I've missed you, too, Mom," he said, and hugged her tightly.

Then Carlisle hugged me and said, "Thank you for coming."

I nodded. "We really wanted to."

Edward hugged Carlisle, something I'd never seen before, and then Esme served tomato soup on a bowl for Nessie, and placed a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich, cut in halves, next to the bowl. Nessie sat on the barstool and ate. We talked around her, over and and with her. All around, it was such a family thing-with Esme in Carlisle's embrace, Alice standing between me and Edward, and Jasper looking at her lovingly, Rose and Emmett were sitting next with Nessie, telling her about the things they'd done in Hawaii. I figured everything was censored by the way that Emmett kept slating looks at Rose, and her silent giggles. I didn't think it was anything appropriate for a nine-year-old girl to know. Edward and Esme talked about New Hampshire, while Carlisle looked on. Alice demanded why I wasn't wearing what she'd given me, and I whispered "Edward ripped it!" We laughed and told jokes that we'd heard millions of times.

And then, Nessie fell asleep.

Edward took her up the stairs to the room Alice had prepared for her, while I stayed downstairs with the rest of the family. When he came back down, he sat next to me on the couch. He put a hand on my knee, and his touch sent a bolt of electricity up my body. I looked up at him and he smiled. I pecked him on the cheek and he chuckled. "I love you," he murmured.

"And I love you," I whispered.

Then we realized that we weren't alone, and when we looked around us guiltily, everyone laughed. "Uhm, do you need some time alone?" Rose asked, with a chuckle.

Emmett snickered.

Edward gave him a look. "No, that's fine," he said.

"Yeah, we really missed you guys," I said, and took Edward's hand.

"And we missed you, Bella," Carlisle said. And then he sighed. "Tell us, Bella. Really, how have you been? Any problems? With Nessie?" he asked.

I frowned, and looked up at Edward, who was staring at his adoptive father. "I-"

"She's gotten into her head that she is older than she is," Edward said, with a sigh. "We didn't think she'd need to understand that she isn't full grown yet, not in the literal sense of the word. She'd been seeing a boy, Carlisle, a boy who's sixteen years old! I really don't know where she gets these ideas, but..." he trailed off, and looked down at our entwined hands.

I looked at Carlisle. "We don't know how to make her understand," I whispered. "She's our daughter, and I-we love her so much. And we thought we were making such good decisions. I've been wondering how good they were. I really didn't know it was going to be _this_ hard," I whispered.

Carlisle's gold eyes looked on, warmly, compassionately. And then he smiled. "Well, first of all, it's good that you're struggling," he said.

I stared at him. "What?"

"Yes. All those doubts-they're worthy of good parents, Bella. I'm sure you're doing fine, really. But, yes, you have to make sure that Nessie doesn't cross the line," he said.

"Edward yelled at her," I whispered, and felt Edward's hand tighten around mine.

"Well, I'm sure that every parent has to yell at their child once or twice," Carlisle said, and I remembered Charlie yelling at me because Jacob snitched about my riding a motorcycle.

"I felt like I had committed a crime," Edward murmured, and sat back on the couch, with a sigh. I looked at him and frowned. He had? Well, I had practically made it seem as if he had. "I'm sorry I yelled. I apologized after," he said.

"What else did you tell her?" Esme asked, quietly, her voice melodious.

"That it was wrong for her to tell other kids that she was their same age when she isn't. That seems to be the only issue here, no? Her lying?" I asked, looking at her.

She nodded. "Well, I suppose you did pretty well," she said. "I'm proud of both of you," she said.

"She also promised not to lie-she didn't promise to stop talking to the boy, though," Edward said, suddenly growling.

"Edward," said Esme, and he looked at her. "I'm sure she will listen to you. Now, don't worry. Everything is going to be fine. Are you thinking of returning to New Hampshire soon?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Edward. Then looked at me. "Are we, Bella?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said, and then we both looked down.

There was silence. Then, "Alright, now, both of you. Stop it. You are both great parents. And you've proved it," said Esme. "Stop acting as if you don't know what to do, when you do. The answer is right there, Edward, Bella. All you have to do is talk to her. Tell her everything she needs to know. Now, we know that she understands that she can't date because she is nine years old. Of course, she seems much older than you think, you know? I mean the way she thinks, the way she is with other people. But, of course, you have to do more for her. Keep telling her, reminding her that she isn't old enough yet and that you will allow it when she's actually sixteen-"

"Nineteen," interrupted Edward. "She will be old enough until she is nineteen," he said.

"Edward, you are such a hypocrite," Rose said. "You're seventeen!"

"Only on the outside, Rosalie. If I wouldn't have been made into a vampire, I would have waited longer-"

"Yeah, we know you wanted to go and fight in World War I," said Alice. "I guess you would have married at, maybe twenty-five, after the war, no?" she said.

I raised an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes. "Imagine if you had lived during his time, Bella," she said.

"Done it already," I said, shortly.

Emmett laughed. "Are you serious? You thought about it?"

"Well, so? It was something dumb," I muttered.

"Not dumb, no," said Rosalie. "You were, what? Daydreaming away in Bio?" she asked, and then Emmett laughed harder.

"Emmett, you'll wake Nessie," Carlisle chided.

Emmett lowered down his voice, moderately. "So what would you dream? Walks in the park-chaperoned, of course?" he asked.

"Shut up, Emmett," I snapped and he laughed even more.

"Anyway," said Alice, and threw me a laughing look. "I think you guys should just keep her away from other people until she's ready," she said. Then she brightened. "I can be with her all day!"

"_All_ day?" Edward asked.

"You'll corrupt her," I teased.

"_I_ need you all day," murmured Jasper.

And then we all laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Alice's Little Pink House**

The next day, I left Edward with Emmett and Jasper, and Nessie, Alice and I went to explore. The huge white house in Oregon was beautiful, and a lot like the one in Washington, but still different. It was three floors, kitchen, sitting room, media room, eight bedrooms, eight bathrooms, walk-in closets in six of the bedrooms, and it was completely beautiful! But, Alice wanted us to see something she'd found deep in the woods. So, we went hunting, while the guys found something to do on their own. Rose and Esme had left at 6 in the morning for the nearest city, which would be some place called Upper Soda. Of course, if they wanted to find stores like Wal-Mart and HEB, they would have to go to a city called Sweet Home. The big house was near the Green Peter Lake, and the Middle Santiam-which was a river that ran deeper than I thought into the Cascade Range. Alice led us into the woods, where we found a herd of elk and decided to hunt. Nessie wrinkled her nose and said, "I'll pass," but Alice and I dug in our heels and had two each. After that, we found what Alice had been so secretive about.

It was a small pink house.

It seemed to have been abandoned a long time, the paint was peeling off, and the doors were almost falling off. The stairs that lead up the little porch almost whined from being stepped on. The outside looked like it needed some more TLC-like, as much as it could get wouldn't be enough!-but the inside... it was obvious Alice had been in there more than once. It had been completely refurbished. It had new furniture, white sofas-a white love seat. A coffee table painted white. And Alice had painted some of the walls white, another baby pink. It seemed to be her domain, here. I didn't think Jasper had seen this place at all.

"Wow," said Nessie, as she looked around. She was wearing a pair of cut-offs and a white T-shirt with white Pumas at her feet. Her hair was in a tight braid down her back and her face was a bit flushed from our run. "Auntie, did you do this all on your own?" she asked, her voice completely impressed.

"Yup. All me. Jazz doesn't even know it exists," Alice said.

"Wow," Nessie and I said at the same time. "Well, this is quite the little place. What do you use it for, Alice?" I asked, as I walked to the window.

"I don't know yet," Alice said. "I was thinking I could sell it, but... it's so pretty," she complained, as if she wasn't to blame for that. She'd been the one that made it pretty again. "I could maybe, rent it?" she said.

I turned to look at her. "Alice, this is so yours," I told her. "You can't give it to someone else. You'll probably kill them just so you can keep the place," I laughed.

Alice shot me a look. "What do you propose I do with it?" she asked.

"Keep it. For yourself. You know, a place you can come to and be calm. Somewhere you can relax, with a friend maybe Jazz. Tell him about it. Alice, this is magic," I told her, looking out the window. There were flowers a few feet away from that window. And then, I was thinking about my little cottage in the middle of the woods, back in Washington. "God, I miss Forks," I said, aloud.

"You do?" Nessie said. I turned to look at her. She was walking towards me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and drew her to me. "I thought you hated it, and that's why we left," she said.

"No, I love Forks. I used to hate it. I hated everything that was cold and humid. I detested rain. But then I met your father, and he changed everything in my eyes," I said. And then I hated how I sounded. So freaking cheesy.

Nessie laughed, and she put her hand on the one that was on her shoulder. I saw what she was seeing: Jake, Edward, her and me hunting in the woods. _Forks_, she thought and we laughed when she remembered me attacking Jake when I'd first heard Jake call her _Nessie_. "_You nicknamed my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster!"_

"Oh, yeah, those were good times," I said, chuckling.

"It reminds you of the cottage, right?" Alice asked. I turned to look at her. "It does, I can tell."

"It does," I murmured. Alice came and stood beside me, and we stood there, in front of the window, staring out at the flowers and the forest. "This is really beautiful, Alice," I whispered.

"Yeah, it is," she whispered back.

Nessie looked around the little house, and then she gasped. "Oh, look! It's a cat!" she exclaimed. I turned and saw the white cat slipping under a white _chaise_ and then it began to _meow_ desperately. Nessie took off towards it, and the cat-seeing that she obviously wouldn't be able to run away-stayed put. Nessie grabbed it and held it up so she could look at it. "Oh, look at you! You're so pretty!" she gushed.

I stared at my daughter, wondering if she ever got lonely-like sometimes I had, being an only child. The cat was actually petrified, but Nessie coaxed it into purring like a pro. Alice laughed at that, and then we all sat around the cat and petted her as if she were a queen. "Oh, Mom, can I keep her-please? I've never had a pet, please, Mom. Please, please, please!" she said, her eyes begging me.

Laughing, I said, "Well, we can take it back to the house-Alice, can we?" I asked.

"Of course!" she said, tickling the cat while it purred like crazy.

"Then we can bring up the issue with your father, and then we'll decide?" I asked Nessie.

She nodded and looked down at the cat. "If I can keep you, I'm going to name you... Snowball," she said, giggled.

I rolled my eyes. That was such a cliché.

After a while, we went back so that Nessie could eat lunch, and took the cat with us.

I mean, we took _Snowball_ with us.


End file.
